The Heaven-Sent Formation

"Wonderful, Junior Brother Gu! Your ability to purify heavenly demons makes you a true blessing for the Sword Sect. With your help, the sect's overall strength will rise to new heights. The Five Heavenly Tribulations grow increasingly severe with each stage, and the Heart Demon Tribulation is the most difficult to overcome. Countless powerful cultivators who could have become Heavenly Monarchs perished under its torment," Lin Miaoke sighed.

Gu Qingfeng was slightly surprised. Is the Heart Demon Tribulation really that formidable? I didn’t feel it—if anything, it tasted rather good.

Lin Miaoke seemed to read his thoughts and explained, "Junior Brother Gu, since you possess the ability to suppress heart demons, you naturally wouldn’t perceive the difficulty. But others are different. Humans are bound by emotions and desires, and everyone carries regrets or unresolved grievances in their lifetime. When the Heart Demon Tribulation arrives, these flaws in one’s Dao Heart are magnified infinitely, exploited by the demons.

Heart demons are not living beings—they are amalgamations of demonic energy and negative emotions, manifestations of evil thoughts. No matter how strong one’s body or divine power may be, they cannot harm them in the slightest. Thus, against heart demons, all techniques are useless. Only a flawless Dao Heart can prevail—but how easy is it to achieve perfection?

I was the same. I thought that once you brought glory to the Sword Formation lineage, my inner turmoil would be resolved. Yet, the fleeting joy of vanity nearly clouded my judgment, dragging me deeper into obsession.

Because of this, my Heart Demon Tribulation arrived prematurely. Had you not come in time, I would have perished.

Ah, speaking of which, Junior Brother Gu, what brought you here so coincidentally?"

"Oh, didn’t Senior Sister promise me that if I made it into the top ten, you’d teach me the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art?" Gu Qingfeng replied casually.

Lin Miaoke nodded. "So that’s why. Who knew that our agreement would end up saving my own life?"

As she spoke, she retrieved a golden page from her Qiankun Ring and handed it to Gu Qingfeng.

Gu Qingfeng took it and immediately brightened. "This is forged from divine gold?"

"Indeed. The Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art is profound, bordering on the Dao itself. Only divine gold can bear its essence. To my shame, I’ve studied it for a century and still only grasped the basics.

But you’re different, Junior Brother. With your Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body and unparalleled talent, you are the most suitable genius to master this art. I believe the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art will flourish in your hands."

Seeing the treasure he had long coveted now in his grasp, even Gu Qingfeng’s usually reserved demeanor couldn’t suppress his delight.

Lin Miaoke noticed and smiled. "Alright, Junior Brother Gu. I’ve just broken through and need to stabilize my cultivation. You should return and begin your study. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to ask me anytime.

Though my comprehension pales in comparison to yours, a century of study has given me some insights that might help you avoid pitfalls."

"Then I thank Senior Sister sincerely."

"Between us, no thanks are needed."

......

After leaving Frostpeak, Gu Qingfeng rushed straight back to his cave abode and immediately went into seclusion to study the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art.

The Nine Forbidden Arts represented the pinnacle of nine different paths, and the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art stood at the peak of array formations and seals.

Having suffered at the hands of Elder Tianxiang in the past, he had long coveted this art. Now that he finally obtained it, he was so engrossed that he even neglected his usual cultivation sessions with Ling Fei'er, devoting himself entirely to deciphering the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art.

True to its reputation as one of the Nine Forbidden Arts, even with Gu Qingfeng’s prodigious talent, it took him three full days just to grasp thirty percent of its essence. The deeper he went, the more challenging it became. Without months of dedicated study, mastery was impossible.

Thus, Gu Qingfeng remained in seclusion for an entire month.

During this time, upheavals occurred both within the Sword Sect and beyond. Dugu Wei even sent people multiple times to seek him out, but Gu Qingfeng never emerged, wholly absorbed in the Heaven-Sealing Forbidden Art.

It wasn’t that he was particularly fond of array formations—rather, he had discovered a specific formation within the art that suited him perfectly.

This formation consumed him day and night. He refused to leave seclusion until he fully unraveled its mysteries.

Because this formation was a matter of life and death, he didn’t even meet Ling Fei'er during this period.

The formation was called the Heaven’s Descent Array.

Its function was simple: teleportation. In essence, it was a transportation array.

Teleportation arrays were nothing special—almost every notable sect had them. After all, the Cangming Realm was boundless. Without such arrays, weaker cultivators might spend their entire lives unable to leave the Greenwood Domain.

But the Heaven’s Descent Array was different. Ordinary teleportation arrays could be disrupted or destroyed. Powerful experts who could manipulate space could forcibly interrupt the process.

This meant that attempting to escape danger via a teleportation array was practically futile.

Against a Heavenly Monarch, activating a teleportation array was no different from courting death.

The Heaven’s Descent Array, however, was nearly impossible to interrupt. Its name, fully expanded, meant "Heaven sends you away."

Here, "Heaven" referred to the Heavenly Dao itself.

In simple terms, the Heavenly Conveyance Array harnesses the power of the Heavenly Dao to teleport. Before the might of the Heavenly Dao, unless one is a Heavenly Emperor—a supreme being who has forged their own path and can resist the Heavenly Dao with their own power—who else could possibly oppose it?

Of course, even someone as formidable as a Heavenly Emperor can only briefly withstand the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, why would even a Heavenly Emperor eventually meet their natural end?

To put it bluntly, it’s a restriction imposed by the Heavenly Dao upon all living beings. Cultivators are like blood-sucking parasites, endlessly absorbing the world’s spiritual energy to strengthen themselves. The Heavenly Dao would never allow an immortal parasite to keep draining its essence.

In the current era, no one has attained the rank of Emperor, which means no one can disrupt the Heavenly Conveyance Array!

With this array at his disposal, Gu Qingfeng felt an overwhelming sense of security—there was no one left in the Cangming Realm he needed to fear.

If sealed by demons or monsters, he could use the Heavenly Conveyance Array to escape. If pursued by human powerhouses, he could teleport straight to the Primordial Forbidden Land.

With this array in hand, he feared neither the righteous nor the wicked!

This was precisely why Gu Qingfeng had thrown himself into relentless study, forgetting even food and sleep. Once he mastered the Heavenly Conveyance Array, there would be no one in the world capable of killing him. If he couldn’t win a fight, he’d simply flee to the Primordial Forbidden Land.

Unless, of course, his enemies had no fear of the Primordial Forbidden Land.

Fortunately, heaven rewards the diligent. After a month of arduous cultivation, Gu Qingfeng finally mastered the Heavenly Conveyance Array and fully comprehended the Heaven-Sealing Restriction.

Yet, he had no intention of ending his seclusion—because he was now preparing to break through to the Earthly Origin Realm!

Previously, Lin Miaoke had pushed him to the peak of the Human Origin Realm, leaving him just one step away from a breakthrough. Combined with the Primordial Earth Essence gifted by Dugu Wei, everything was in place—all that remained was cultivation.

The feeling of being stuck in this limbo was unbearable. His divine energy had long since reached its limit, even overflowing, leaving him swollen and desperate for release.

And so, Gu Qingfeng continued his closed-door cultivation.